Smooth Operator
by shadowmaat
Summary: Kevin (Space Core) is trying out some... unusual dance moves in the lab one night when Rick catches him. Kevin convinces him to stick around. Spaceventure happens. (Geekenders 'verse. Heavily influenced by the group's Star Wars burlesque, making this very meta. Camomility helped and this is all her fault.)


It had started as a joke. Something to wile away the time when he was stuck in the lab after shift. Night was the best time for space research, but without Rick and Craig around it could get a little lonely, so Kevin had taken to turning up the music. And what was music without a little dancing?

The kind of dancing he was trying now, though, would have shocked anyone who knew him. They figured his simple vocabulary meant he was simpleminded as well, and that simpleminded meant innocent. Wrong on all counts.

OK, maybe he hadn't been entirely sure what to expect when he bought tickets to a burlesque show, but "Empire Strips Back" had been a pretty big hint and it was still _Star Wars_, so he'd gone. It bad been revealing in more ways than one and he'd walked away from it with a keen interest in some of the dance moves they'd used. They weren't exactly the sort of thing he could practice when the others were around, though, not unless he wanted to face a lot of difficult questions. Most of them, he was sure, from Rick, who considered himself King of the Dance Floor. If he was king it was only because he judged the lab's occasional dance-offs and always declared himself the winner.

Now, though, now it was Kevin's turn. He started tapping his foot, finding the rhythm. A few steps with a lot more hip than he usually used and then pause. He swayed in place, smiling to himself. A lot of it seemed to be in the hips and shoulders. He strutted across the lab, allowing his lab coat to slide off his shoulders and drop to the floor. Stop and pose again, nodding. He was getting the hang of this. The tie came off, sailing to land against his desk. He started to work on the buttons of his shirt, rolling his shoulders as he did. Flick the shirt open and shrug it off. A little extra work to pull it off because he'd forgotten to undo the cuffs first, but a couple of tugs and it, too, drifted to the floor. It was a little cooler without it, but if he kept moving he stayed warm. Flex his shoulders and the turn to face the door, thrusting out his chest.

He froze, staring.

Rick stared back at him, open-mouthed.

_Smooth Operator_ played on, oblivious to the awkward tableau. Kevin shifted his weight from one foot to the other and lifted his chin.

"...Space?"

Rick blinked, turning his head. "Kevin, what in the nine hells do you think you're doing?!"

Although his head was turned his eyes were still locked on Kevin's chest. Kevin gave an experimental flex and saw him flinch. He also noticed that Rick was blushing even harder than he was. He swallowed. Maybe this wasn't a disaster after all.

"Space dance." Catching the beat again he sauntered towards Rick, movements slightly exaggerated. His heart was hammering wildly, but he refused to look away.

Rick cleared his throat, shifting his attention to a lab safety poster on the wall. "You, ah, you might want to put your shirt back on, there, Kev. Kevin." He licked his lips. "I wouldn't want you to get cold."

Kevin smiled. He'd been listening to Rick's many (and mostly failed) attempts at pick-up lines for long enough that he knew how they worked.

"Space is cold," he said. "I'm not." He thrust his hips.

Rick skittered past him, shielding his eyes. "Look, buddy, ahaha, I don't know what's going on here- and I don't wanna know- but I just came, to, uh, do something. Science! A- a science thing. With the whip. Space Whip! With science!" He started towards his desk and then detoured to scoop up Kevin's abandoned lab coat.

"I- I really think you should put this back on." He held it out, keeping his eyes averted. "You, uh, y-you probably wouldn't want anyone to see you. Like this."

Kevin moved closer, taking the proffered coat and tossing it again. He caught Rick's wrist in a light hold. "Space _wants_ to be seen."

Rick pulled free, tucking his hands behind him and taking a step back.

"Yeah? W-well good. Because there's, uh, a lot of you to be seen. Right now."

"Wanna see more?" Kevin could hear his voice getting husky. He flexed again. "Tickets to the space show?"

He tried to keep track of the expressions that crossed Rick's face. Panic, embarrassment, guilt, and… interest. Followed by more guilt.

"No!" Rick said. "No, uh, Kevin. I- I really don't! We're friends, for cryin' out loud! Partners! In a lab. Lab partners. Doing… doing science. And this is not science!" He waved a hand, his fingers brushing against Kevin's bare arm in a way that made them both gasp.

Kevin locked eyes with him. "Chemistry is still science."

The song had changed to something else by now, but Kevin barely noticed. Tentative, he reached out, running a finger down Rick's tie, making the other scientist shiver and close his eyes.

"Kevin, I swear to God, if you don't stop this right now…" He took a step back, bumping into his desk. "I'm just here to pick up some notes, alright? Wh- whatever you do… on your own…" He felt behind him on the desk, his eyes still closed.

"Space Whip. Right." Kevin felt a little light-headed. Could he really go through with this? "Remind me again, Rick." The name came out as half a growl. "What am I supposed to do when I see someone pretty?"

Rick's eyes snapped open again, lips parting as he stared. "Wh-? You…"

He felt a hint of stubble on Rick's cheek as he stroked it. This time there was no flinching.

"You kiss…" Rick pushed himself away from the desk and Kevin slipped his hand into his hair, cupping the back of his head.

"No, you kiss _he-_"

Kevin kissed him, an electric tingle racing along his spine. It was a little awkward at first; that brief, worry-filled hesitation before Rick joined in. He grabbed Kevin's shoulders, pulling the two of them even closer together.

The kiss was long and hungry. They bumped against Rick's desk a couple of times, knocking over a cup full of pens. Kevin pulled back slowly, dragging Rick's lower lip between his teeth.

Rick shuddered. "You damn fool," he moaned, although it was hard to tell if the comment was directed at Kevin or himself.

Kevin slid his hands up Rick's chest and under his lab coat, slowly working it off his shoulders.

"Kevin…" Rick's fingers traced up and down Kevin's forearms. "I… I really think we should stop this before it goes too far. We work together. This is… We shouldn't be…" He pulled one arm free of his coat and then the other, letting Kevin toss it aside. "We shouldn't be doing this."

Kevin leaned in, nuzzling his ear. "I thought your middle name was Danger." He nibbled the lobe.

Rick gave a small bleat of laughter, splaying his hands against the small of Kevin's back. "Y'got me there. Heh. A-and I do have a black belt in bedroom…"

"Oh, your space belt seems to have come unbuckled." Grinning, Kevin slipped it free from Rick's pants and started on the zipper.

"Yeah, well, it, uh... it isn't the _belt_ that knows the moves, it's the man." Rick's hands were working their way forward around Kevin's hips. He rocked against them.

"So? Show me your moves."

He did. And then Kevin showed him a few, too. Their... routine lasted long into the night, leaving them exhausted but very satisfied.

They did their best to straighten up afterwards and went their separate ways, but when they arrived back in the lab the next morning, Craig was standing by the project table with his arms folded over his chest.

"What the heck happened in here last night? One of my models got crushed and some of my notes were crumpled. Was there a fight?"

"Fight? Fight? Ha! As if there could be any fighting without me around! Which I wasn't. Last night." Rick rubbed the back of his neck, unable to look at Craig.

Kevin had no such problems. He looked right at Craig, grinning. "Space adventure!"

Rick doubled over in a coughing fit, turning bright red. Craig glanced at him and then back to Kevin.

"Right. Well, next time you're having an 'adventure' try and be more careful, OK? We all need to work together on this." He stalked back to his desk, frowning across the room. "You should take something for that cough, Rick. It better not be contagious."

Rick wheezed, leaning against his desk. Kevin winked at him and then settled in to work. He'd finally won a dance competition against Rick. And with any luck, there might be more in their future.


End file.
